Beth and Mick's 3rd Anniversary Party
by Nocturne in C Moll
Summary: A sequel…of sorts…to Beth and Josh's 2nd Anniversary Party. Written very quickly for the 3rd Anniversary of Moonlight. Beth takes her and Mick's little anniversary tradition too far...


**Author's note:** Written _very_ quickly for the 3rd Anniversary of Moonlight. Not betaed, so any bad writing, boo-boos, unbearable cheese, or ridiculous plot holes are mine. Do let me know if you notice anything particularly glaring.

**Disclaimer****:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  
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* * *

Beth and Mick's 3****rd**** Anniversary Party** (or, **Three Years After the Mysterious Disappearances of ADA Josh Lindsey and Lieutenant Carl Davis…**)

The water dripped off their noses, the ends of their hair, the tips of their fingers, the edges of their clothes.

"Turn me."

"It's the drug."

She lurched in his arms. "Turn me. _Do it._"

"No, Beth."

"Do it!"

"It's just the drug." He held her tighter.

Beth stamped her foot. "It's not the drug, Mick! I took it _once_…_four years_ ago!"

He grinned and kissed her neck. "I know, but these showers are lots of fun."

"Yeah, they're like giant thrill rides that never end—except they _do_ end, because I'm _still_ human and wrinkle like a prune after fifteen minutes!" she turned her head and glared up at him. "I'm thirty, Mick! Turn me before the wrinkles become permanent!"

He chucked her nose and stepped out of the shower. "Our guests will be here soon. We should change out of these wet clothes. You know Josef always shows up early—he seems to get earlier every year." Mick handed her a towel and frowned suddenly. "I think he knows about our little tradition, and is trying to catch us at it."

"You _think_?" Beth replied sarcastically as she followed him into the bedroom. "I've been telling him a later time than everyone else since last year's close call, but I think he phones everyone else on the pretense of carpooling and finds out the real time, and then suddenly remembers the Ferrari only has two seats and he can't bring anybody else."

Mick laughed. "I wouldn't put it past him."

As if on cue, he heard the door opening downstairs. He was already in dry clothes, but Beth was still struggling out of her sopping dress and she felt the rush of air on her wet skin as he sped away to intercept their untimely guest.

"The showers are also not as fun for me when _I _can't feel the individual water molecules against my skin, or the ridges of your fingertips," she muttered under her breath and sighed.

Her eyes slid over to her dresser and focused on the handle of the top drawer.

* * *

"Hey."

Mick and Josef looked up from their drinks to see Beth stepping down the stairs, barefoot, in a slinky red dress and shadowy makeup.

"Hey…" Josef said with one eyebrow raised.

"Beth…are you all right?" Mick started to get to his feet as she approached.

She shoved him back down on the couch and stood over him. "Everything's great. I feel _fine_…just a little role playing, darling."

Josef hid a gleeful smirk behind his glass.

"Uh, uh, Josef's here," Mick stuttered as she leaned over and began playing with his tie. "Maybe we should entertain him some other way."

Beth swung her head over her shoulder and then back to look at Mick. "Whatever you want," she said in a sultry voice and flopped onto the couch beside him. She started smoothing her hands over the material of the couch.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine."

Josef cleared his throat. "Mick, did you hear how many 'i's were in that fine? I think she's good." He watched as she ran her big toe along the edge of the fireplace, appearing utterly fascinated by the sensation. "—At any rate, this anniversary party won't be as boring as last year's."

This caused Mick to take his eyes off Beth. "Last year's party was boring?"

"Yeah, you didn't cook a chicken."

"Cooking is hard when you never do it, and can't taste things," Mick said defensively.

"Exactly why it wasn't boring when you tried. I still remember the looks on Beth and Carl's faces…" Josef sighed nostalgically.

Mick scowled. "Yeah, well, Carl doesn't eat chicken anymore, and Beth keeps insisting that she doesn't want to, either."

The last part of his sentence diverted Beth's attention from the fireplace and she pounced on him. "Yes—_turn me_. I'm sick of chicken! If you don't turn me tonight, I'm going to kung pao _you_, you naughty…naughty…_vampire_."

Josef snorted and spit a mouthful of bloody scotch back into his glass. "Ow—some of that went up my nose!"

Mick had just opened his mouth to respond to Beth when a knock was heard at the door. "Oh—the-the door! I'd better open…that…manually." He slid out from underneath Beth, and landed on his butt on the floor. He flipped over to his knees and half crawled to his feet, then walked quickly to the door and yanked it open to reveal Guillermo, one of the Cleaners, and Lieutenant Carl Davis. Mick stepped back, but said nothing.

"—Aren't you going to invite us in?" Carl asked.

"That's just a myth, petit chou-fleur," the Cleaner said to Carl as she stepped ahead of him into the room. He stuck out his tongue and followed.

"I see you started the party without us," Guillermo said.

"Josef arrived early," Mick said tightly and shut the door behind them.

"And Beth has hopefully been practicing for the main show later," Josef quipped.

Mick glared at him and reclaimed his seat beside Beth, gently pulling her back up into a sitting position and trying to keep her from standing.

"I'll get us some drinks," the Cleaner winked at Carl as she slid past him and sashayed toward the kitchen.

Guillermo shook his head. "You're a lucky bastard, you know that," he growled. "I spend years trying to figure out vampire women, you pull a gun on one _once_—as a _human_—she raises an eyebrow, and it's love at first sight on both sides. You _should_ be dead."

"I am," Carl sighed, grinning at the Cleaner, who winked at him as she poured two tall glasses of blood from one of the pitchers set out on the island counter.

"I meant _dead_ dead, not _un_dead. —Man, I hate you, man!"

"I know," Carl smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey—she's got a friend. Maybe we can fix you up?"

Guillermo snarled at him. "I don't need dating help from a fledgling!"

Carl lowered his voice. "Our place. Thursday. Midnight. She'll be there."

"She hot?"

Carl nodded.

Guillermo replied in a hushed tone, "Okay, deal. See you then."

"…You do realize that everybody heard that anyway, right?"

"Yeah, I hate vampire parties. I just come for the food." Guillermo moved in the direction of the liquid refreshments as the Cleaner returned with glasses for Carl and herself.

"Here you are, _Lieutenant_."

"Thank you, Darling."

She smiled into his eyes. "'Darling'—that was all you ever called me, from the moment you lowered your gun. I thought you were being obnoxious and almost tore your heart out—literally—until I realized you meant it."

"Gag me," Guillermo called from the refreshment table.

The Cleaner turned and shot him a death glare, but Carl just smiled and drew her close to him. "We should go put some flowers on Josh Lindsey's headstone later tonight. After all, he sacrificed himself so we could be together."

She wrinkled her nose. "Well, it was hardly intentional—I had to kill him. He opened the bag."

"The autopsy found severe brain damage anyway. No one would have believed him." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'm lucky didn't open the bag—you interrogated me for three days straight before releasing me with that bizarre cover story that I still can't believe everyone bought."

She hid a smirk. "I could have let you go after an hour—I knew you would take the secret to your grave by then."

"I _did_ take it to my grave—now I'm forever yours, baby."

"Oh, somebody stake me!" Guillermo said to no one in particular.

Instead they heard a moan; there was a crash, and Beth lay convulsing on the floor next to the couch.

Mick was already at her side; Guillermo was there a split second later putting a pillow under her head and pushing the couch away to give her space. Josef, Carl, and the Cleaner stood by helplessly.

"Beth! —What's happening?" Mick looked to Guillermo.

The morgue attendant shrugged. "Seizure—obviously." When Mick glared at him, he put up his hands and said, "I can't be sure of the cause without more info!"

Carl looked grim. "You remember that drug from four years ago? Black Crystal? Beth got footage of a model ODing on it—and that's exactly what she looked like."

"Black Crystal," Mick repeated hollowly. "Beth had some—she took it. Tonight—she was acting like she did when she was on it." He ran his hand through his hair. "I thought she was playing a game—I didn't know she'd kept any."

Beth suddenly went limp. Mick "NO!" he shouted. After a split second of hesitation, he tore into his arm and started to drip blood into her mouth. "Wake up!" He yelled at her. "—Why isn't she waking up? Why?"

Josef was the only one able to voice the reason. "If she took Black Crystal, there's silver in her system."

"What—what does that mean?" Mick looked up at him with wild eyes. "For a turning?"

His friend crouched down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It means that I'll call Waverley Place and tell them that Sarah's getting a roommate. And then we hope for a miracle or two together."

Mick's eyes grew strangely bright before he nodded, once, and gathered Beth's lifeless body close against his.

"See if Mick has any of Beth's blood stored," Josef said in a low tone to Guillermo, who nodded and went to the hidden fridge.

"We got two bags," Guillermo held them up.

"One for the plane and one for NYC—let's hope it's enough."

Carl was grasping the Cleaner's hand tightly. "What can we do?"

Josef shook his head. "Figure out a cover story to give for Beth at work for now. We'll be on a plane to New York within the hour. I have someone better equipped to handle her…situation…there."

"You think she'll make it?" Carl searched the elder vampire's eyes.

Josef shrugged. "She might have a chance—if we have enough of her blood to displace the tainted blood. The silver is damaging the human tissue and preventing the vampire blood from repairing and replacing it. For now, she's in limbo."

Carl nodded slowly. The Cleaner squeezed his hand. "Let's go come up with that cover story. It's all we can do right now. Keep us informed, Josef."

He was already walking over to Mick, but tilted his head.

* * *

Paula opened the door at Waverley Place and broke into a wide smile. "Mr. Fitz—"

"Paula, you may remember Beth—but last time she had her eyes open," Josef pointed at the limp form in Mick's arms. Then he gestured to the man standing behind them on the steps. "And this is Guillermo, her personal nurse. Go make up a fresh IV bag—use this," he shoved the last bag of Beth's blood into her hands and looked at his watch. "It's almost time for Sarah to get a new one, too."

Paula's smile had already faded. "Sir, with the—"

"Just do it. Do it now!"

"Yes, sir!" she gasped and hurried away.

Josef led the way down the corridor and opened the door to the bedroom for Mick. He sped to Sarah's side and kissed her lips as he carefully gathered her up, trying not to dislodge any of the sensors, and moved her over to make space for Beth.

Mick laid Beth down and sat beside her, holding her hand as Guillermo hooked up a line to drain her blood.

A minute later, Paula bustled in with two IV bags and handed one to him. The other she hooked up to Sarah.

They watched the blood drain out of the bags and into the unconscious girls.

When the bags were almost empty, Josef said to Paula, "Okay, now make up another bag for Beth."

A furrow appeared in her brow. Her heart began to pound. "With what?"

Josef rolled his eyes and stared at her. "The blood I gave you."

"B-but there's none left, sir."

"WHAT?"

Paula's voice shook. "I made up two IV bags, sir, like you asked—one for Beth and one for…Sarah."

Mick jumped up off the bed. "But that's Beth's blood—she needs all of it!" He raked his hand through his hair.

"I tried to ask—I'm sorry! I thought it was something special—for Sarah, too." She trembled as Josef locked his gaze on her and stepped toward her, but he turned away at the last second.

"It's my fault—I wasn't clear. You can go to your room for the night. I'll watch Sarah."

Paula nodded slowly, her eyes bright, and backed out into the hallway.

"I know some guys in the City—I'll put in some calls—maybe I can get some more AO-." Guillermo shrugged. "It's better than nothing."

"Do it," Josef ordered, and Guillermo went out into the hall with his phone.

Mick had turned away from the bed and was staring at the wall. His lips quivered as Josef came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. They stood in silence for several moments.

There was a gasp behind them and the vampires immediately spun around.

Beth lay still. Her eyes were closed; Mick's shoulders sagged. But there was movement on the other side of the bed and another pair of eyes snapped open.

"Sarah," Josef stood frozen.

She turned her head and looked at him, eyes wide, as she struggled to take a breath. In a split second he was at her side and holding her up in his arms.

"Sarah… Sarah! Oh, Sarah," Josef clutched her close as she wheezed and shuddered against his chest. "You're awake," he breathed down on her in awe. Then he inhaled deeply and looked to a shocked Mick in confusion.

"…But she's human."


End file.
